Publications Editor (English)

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• FAO is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality, background and culture.
• Qualified female applicants, qualified nationals of non-and under-represented Members and person with disabilities are encouraged to apply;
• Everyone who works for FAO is required to adhere to the highest standards of integrity and professional conduct, and to uphold FAO's values
• FAO, as a Specialized Agency of the United Nations, has a zero-tolerance policy for conduct that is incompatible with its status, objectives and mandate, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination　　
• All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks
• All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality
• FAO staff are subject to the authority of the Director-General, who may assign them to any of the activities or offices of the Organization.

Organizational Setting

The Office of Communications (OCC) is responsible for all corporate and internal communication activities of the Organization. It ensures coherence and consistency in FAO’s corporate messaging and communications outputs and enables cost-effectiveness in use of communication-related resources across the Organization. The Publications group (OCCP) is the OCC branch responsible for the production, quality control and dissemination of FAO’s publications and Knowledge products. The Digital and Multimedia group (OCCI) is the OCC branch responsible for the organization digital platforms, campaigns, Social Media and multimedia assets.

Reporting Lines

The Consultant/PSA will report directly to the Communications Officer (Flagships Coordinator), in close collaboration with the Communications Officer (Publishing and Communication).

Technical Focus

Publications and Communication, digital publishing.

Tasks and responsibilities

• Copyedit and review the English editions of FAO flagships and other publications, documents and marketing copy, maintaining a smooth workflow and ensuring the quality, consistency, clarity and accuracy of the text in line with FAO editorial guidelines, including FAOSTYLE, Publishing at FAO and FAOTERM, and generally accepted professional standards. This includes:

o Ensure that publications are developed according to corporate policy;
o Raise and resolve editorial and substantive queries in close collaboration with technical officers/editors in authoring divisions;
o Incorporate any changes arising from the authoring divisions and high-level approval processes;
o Liaise closely with authoring divisions and designers in OCC at various stages of the editorial process to ensure that all edits and corrections applied to the master version are properly reflected in any other publication formats and that any problems affecting typography or layout are resolved;
o Where data or other content is amended or added to the original draft, flag any repercussions on the rest of the document and make informed proposals on amending the affected sections accordingly;
o Copy-edit text and graphic elements (including graphic source files) for consistency and clarity, and rewriting where necessary but without sacrificing technical accuracy;
o Carry out proofreading and editorial checks of page proofs to ensure accuracy and consistency of text and layout;
o Assess the level of detail, technical specificity and appropriate style and language required to meet the needs of the audience(s);
o Fact-checking when necessary;
o Identify content that may be legally or politically sensitive and querying if necessary;
o Ensure that names of countries are presented and spelled correctly according to FAO terminology, and that where countries/regions are listed in the text, graphics or tables they appear in alphabetical order unless there is a logical reason to do otherwise;
o Ensure that all abbreviations/acronyms are correct and spelled out at the first occurrence;
o Review section titles and subheadings for brevity, consistency and parallel construction, with due regard to translation needs;
o Ensure that all cross-references to sections, figures, tables, boxes, etc. are correct and that data and other information in tables and graphics correspond with those in the text;
o Validate the reference list and ensuring that in-text references correspond to those in the reference list;
o Finalize content and layout through approval for print and posting online.
• Review and approve in the Publishing Workflow System (PWS) publications that are produced by other divisions in English, using the PWS quality control guidelines as a reference;
• Respond to editorial queries and contribute to updates of FAO’s editorial guidelines; and
• Perform other editorial tasks when needed.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• University degree in communication, publishing, social or political science or a related field;
• At least 5 years of relevant experience in editorial and publishing area.
• Working knowledge of English and limited knowledge of another FAO official language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish). For PSA.SBS working knowledge of English might be sufficient.

FAO Core Competencies

• Results Focus
• Teamwork
• Communication
• Building Effective Relationships
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical/Functional Skills

• Work experience in more than one location or area of work, particularly in field positions is desirable;
• Demonstrated experience in handling corporate publications that involve teamwork and professional relationship;
• Good experience in carrying out editing of substantial and technical publications and documents;
• Skills to improve readability in editing and controlling publications while ensuring the information is accurate and consistent;
• Strong attention to detail to ensure consistency in the style and tone of publications;
• Ability to clearly and professionally communicate information to authoring divisions, partners and colleagues involved;
• Good and relevant skills in time-management to ensure tasks and projects can be prioritized, planned and completed by agreed deadlines; and
• Understanding of FAO policies and strategies is considered a strong asset.

Please note that all candidates should adhere to FAO Values of Commitment to FAO, Respect for All and Integrity and Transparency